ARCHITECTURE OPIUM

My architectural scrapbook

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Junya Ishigami is known for his enchanting concepts which attempt to dissolve the boundaries between architecture and geography, the delicacy and lightness of form in his work stretching far beyond the minimalist aesthetic.

The Kait workshop in Japan is a physical embodiment of such ideas; a barely-there glass box supported by 305 unique steel columns to create a fresh interior space drenched in natural light. The interior is an artificial forest of white columns, with sunlight filtering through skylights which run the entire length of the building. 

Ishigami’s obsession with celebrating the beauty of nature within artificial form is expressed in the exterior, where the glass reflects the site’s surrounding trees and the lack of exterior walls furthers the building’s transparency. This subtlety and tentativeness is present in all of Ishigami’s work. 

Photos taken by Iwan Baan and Rudolph Escher.

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This extraordinary cupcake shop in Tokyo was designed by Kengo Kuma for the cake brand Sunnyhills. The structure is mainly concrete but covered in an intricate timber lattice facade to appear like a Japanese bamboo basket. The result is a soft and organic shape which nods to the art of traditional Japanese craftsmanship and sits comfortably in its residential context.

The timber envelope was produced using the traditional Japanese called ‘Jiigotu-Gumi’ where the parts are slotted together without any gluing method. The resulting structure is strong with bond vertical and contortion load.

In the daytime sunlight streaks in through the facade to create dramatic patterns on the floor, whereas in the dark the interior lights poke through the lattice so the building appears to gently glow.

Images taken by Daici Ano

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Sorry I haven’t posted anything for a while - it’s been a hectic year - I’m now in my first year at Manchester School of Architecture and hope to continue this online scrapbook alongside my studies.

The above images were taken by me in Stutgartt as a study on the Weissenhof estate. This house was designed by Le Corbusier and was one of 33 houses designed by architects handpicked by Le Corbusier to propose a healthier, more modern way of living. At this time up to 75% of young women in Germany were dying from tuberculosis, and this was greatly taken into consideration through the design of long window facades for light and maximising fresh air through the roof garden. 

This building was intended as two semidetached houses with a shared roof gardens and mirrored plans. Le Corbusier used his 5 points of architecture to produce this design and, though it was widely criticised at the time it is now considered one of the most influential domestic buildings of the time.

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PAULO QUARTILHO 

 LAKE HOUSE

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This image was taken by Jeff Green, and is of John Lautner’s Big Lebowski house, which has been donated by art collector James Goldstein to the Los Angeles Museum of Art.

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This wooden triangular prism is a new restaurant designed by Murman Arkitekter for a Swedish ski resort. In the daytime the snow lands on the sliding roof, to give the structure a permanence and and the sense of it rising out of the ground. The windows on either end are huge to reflect the sunlight and make the building glint like a little hidden gem in the snow.

There are elements of traditional alpine design, such as the use of birch as the main material, and the sloping roof, which the designers modernise by taking it to an extreme new level. 

The restaurant is decorated and furnished minimally, with a simple running theme of black and raw, untreated pine. This puts emphasis on the spectacular landscape and the building’s interaction with it. The wood will weather over time to feel more natural.

Images taken by  Åke E:son Lindman

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Minimalist store Muji has launched a set of prefabricated cabins to be bought in Japan. The idea was to create minimal country living as a product, not a one-off. The simple yet sleek huts were designed to hold just the necessities, as a place to spend the weekend, and are just small enough to not require planning permission.

Images from Dezeen magazine

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Secret house is a hidden escape from the bustle of Islington. Edgley Design produced this to be barely visible from the street yet still be flooded with light, even managing to insert a little courtyard. It is a neat and simple design, leaving a bare bricked wall to reflect the industrial history of the site.

Photos from the Edgely Design website

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This image is taken from the website of Brinkworth, a London-based interior design studio who converted this Victorian house into a spacious home that is full of character. Some of the structural features were kept, such as thick columns and some of the no-fuss flooring, but were counter-balanced with bright coloured accessories and warm beech wooden detailing on the ceilings, walls and furniture.

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This gloriously brutalist house in Butanta by Paulo Mendes de Rocha and Joao de Gennaro, two pioneering Brazilian architects. The concrete structure pokes out through the surrounding greenery, a no-fuss attitude to its straight lines and repeating forms.

Images originally from The Modern House

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This stunning staircase belongs to Casa De Olivo Gomes, a minimal Brazilian home designed by leading modernist architect Rino Levi.

Photography by Nelson Kon

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Cipea Villa is a holiday residence designed by Sanaksenaho Architects as part of the CIPEA exhibit in 2012, China. The architect’s aim for the villa was to create harmony between the structure and surrounding nature, an example of this being the reflection of the villa on the surface of the lake. Every interior surface is cladded with local cherry wood, creating a warm, smooth and organic atmosphere. 

Images taken by phtographer Tuomas Uusheimo

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The visitor centre in Cley Marshes, designed by Lsi architects, is a most elegant example of sustainable architecture. The site is powered predominantly by a wind turbine and a ground source heat pump, but it’s most powerful feature is the moss-covered roof. The gentle curve guides wind towards the turbine, while drawing connections between the building and its surrounding area. The effect on the whole is a welcoming, ecological building which stands out as a smooth piece of design and engineering.

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Above are images of the 1945 case Study House No. 8, an iconic building by Charles and Ray Eames. If you’re in london I’d highly recommend visiting ‘The World of Charles and Ray Eames’ at the Barbican - the exhibition gives an insight into the minds of the pair who revolutionised twentieth century design in its many forms, be it leg splints, magazine covers or entire houses.

Images taken by Stephen Canon

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Slice house by Procter-Rihl Architects is an unusually shaped structure fitted into a street corner in Brazil. Its most dramatic feature, however, is the pool, which protrudes unexpectedly into a  lower room. This allows manipulated light to flood the lower floor and creates a fluidity in the house, connecting the parts in a most unexpected way.

Image taken by Marcelo Nunes

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Chateau D’eau is a 1930s water tower converted by the Belgian studio Bham Design into a luxurious modern home. A simple monotone colour palette makes the interior sharp and sleek. 

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These 1960s pump stations have been converted by Danish studio Johansen Skovsted Arkitekter into river viewing platforms, creating clean spaces whilst retaining the character of the original structures.

Source: Dezeen Magazine